Highlighted Year: Ernie Caddel, 1935

Wingback, Detroit Lions

Age: 24

3^rd season in pro football & with Spartans/Lions

College: Stanford

Height: 6’2”   Weight: 198

Prelude:

Caddel went to Stanford on a baseball scholarship but was recruited to the football team by legendary Head Coach Glenn “Pop” Warner. Noted for his spectacular running ability, he pioneered in the use of playing while wearing a flak jacket after suffering two broken ribs. Caddel signed with the Portsmouth Spartans in 1933 and “The Blond Antelope” gained 393 yards from scrimmage (282 rushing, 107 receiving) and followed up with 655 total yards in 1934, the franchise’s first season as the Detroit Lions. His 528 rushing yards ranked fifth in the NFL.

1935 Season Summary

Appeared in all 12 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate league rank in Top 20]

Rushing

Attempts – 87 [12]

Yards – 450 [2]

Yards per attempt – 5.2 [1]

TDs – 6 [1]

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 10 [11, tied with Wayland Becker & Flavio Tosi]

Yards – 171 [12]

Yards per catch – 17.1 [5]

TDs – 0

Passing

Attempts – 6

Completions – 4

Yards – 169 [16, tied with Doug Nott]

TD passes – 2 [6, tied with eleven others]

Interceptions – 1

All-Purpose yards – 621 [1]

Scoring

TDs – 6 [2, tied with Dutch Clark, Dale Burnett & Bill Karr]     

Points – 36 [3, tied with Dale Burnett & Bill Karr]

Postseason: 1 G (NFL Championship vs. NY Giants)

Rushing attempts – 16

Rushing yards – 62

Average gain rushing – 3.9

Rushing TDs – 1

Kickoff returns – 2

Kickoff return yards – 25

Average yards per reception – 12.5

Kickoff return TDs – 0

Longest return – 25 yards

Awards & Honors:

1^st team All-NFL: League, Chicago Daily News

2^nd team All-NFL: UPI

Lions went 7-3-2 to finish first in the NFL Western Division while ranking second in the league in rushing yards (1773), touchdowns (25), and scoring (191 points). Won NFL Championship over New York Giants (26-7).

Aftermath:

Caddel achieved career highs for rushing (580 yards), pass receptions (19), and total yards (730) in 1936. He also led the league in yards per carry (6.4) for the second straight season. Caddel received second-team All-NFL recognition from the league and the Chicago Daily News in both 1936 and ’37, a year in which he again had the NFL’s best yards per carry average (5.6) while rushing for 429 yards. He retired following an injury-plagued season in 1938. Overall, Caddel rushed for 2311 yards on 443 carries (5.2 avg.) and caught 54 passes for 641 yards (11.9 avg.), totaling 2952 combined yards and scoring 26 touchdowns.

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Highlighted Years features players who were consensus first-team All-League* selections or league* or conference** leaders in the following statistical categories:

Rushing: Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Passing: Yards, Completion Pct., Yards per Attempt, TDs, Rating

Receiving: Catches, Yards, TDs (min. 10)

Scoring: TDs, Points, Field Goals (min. 5)

All-Purpose: Total Yards

Defense: Interceptions, Sacks

Kickoff Returns: Average

Punt Returns: Average

Punting: Average

*Leagues include NFL (1920 to date), AFL (1926), AFL (1936-37), AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974-75), USFL (1983-85)

**NFC/AFC since 1970

1934: Detroit’s Consecutive Game Shutout Streak Comes to an End After 7 Games

The November 3, 1934 game between the Detroit Lions and Pittsburgh Pirates at University of Detroit Stadium wasn’t a close contest; the Lions won convincingly, 40-7. However, when Pittsburgh tailback Harp Vaughan completed a 62-yard TD pass to end Muggsy Skladany on a fake punt (the only pass completion of the day for the Pirates), it was the first time the Lions had been scored upon all season after a total of seven consecutive shutouts.

The Lions were in their first season in Detroit after a group headed by a radio executive, George Richards, bought the Portsmouth Spartans (of Portsmouth, Ohio) and relocated the four-year-old franchise. Coached by the no-nonsense George “Potsy” Clark, the team featured a group of single-platoon players who were equally adept at playing defense as well as offense such as Dutch Clark (pictured; the biggest star and a charter Pro Football Hall of Famer) and Glenn Presnell at tailback; wingback Ernie Caddell; Ace Gutowsky, solid at fullback on offense and linebacker on defense; and Roy “Father” Lumpkin, an offensive blocking back and defensive linebacker. Linemen included George “Tarzan” Christensen, a tackle and, at 240 pounds, the biggest player on the team; guard Ox Emerson; tackle “Cowboy Jack” Jackson; center and linebacker Chuck Bernard; and ends “Wild Bill” McKalip and “Big John” Schneller. Harry Ebding was both a two-way end and wingback.

There was nothing unique about the Detroit defense – they played the standard 6-2-2-1 alignment of that era and the linemen were no bigger than average. They simply outplayed their opponents from week to week, starting with the New York Giants in the 9-0 season-opening win. From there, they won 6-0 over the Chicago Cardinals, 3-0 on the road over the Green Bay Packers (thanks to a then-league record 54-yard field goal by Presnell), 10-0 over the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-0 over the Boston Redskins (intercepting 4 passes and holding the Redskins to 112 total yards), 28-0 over the Brooklyn Dodgers (the first team to penetrate as close as the Detroit 20 yard line, thanks to a fumble recovery), and 38-0 over the hapless Cincinnati Reds (who never got beyond midfield; the franchise folded before the end of the season).

During the streak, the Lions allowed their opponents a total of 835 yards (119.3 per game) and intercepted at least 19 passes (statistics for interceptions in the 1930s are a bit inexact).

While the 1920-21 Akron Pros had recorded 13 straight shutouts and the 1926 Pottsville Maroons had also put together a seven-game streak, these came before the football had been slimmed down and passing rules relaxed. Detroit’s streak remains unique, and no team since has come close to duplicating the feat (or is likely to).

The Lions won two more games after the streak ended before losing the last three games of the season – including a 19-16 defeat in a Thanksgiving showdown with the Chicago Bears – to end up 10-3 and in second place behind the Bears in the Western Division. They outscored their opponents 238-59, allowing just seven touchdowns all season (two of them by rushing, another still-standing league record).